Uptake Institute

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
263781377
IRS 990-EZ coverage
2021–2025
Forms available
Form 990-EZ 2025
Location
Saint Paul, MN, USA
Rating
63
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Adult, Continuing Education

Reported finances

Revenue
$11,753
Expenses
$22,844
Assets
$8,517
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

People named in this filing

  • Mike McIntee (Board Chair and Secretary)
  • Peter Heege (Treasurer)
  • Ricardo Morales (Board Member)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Harnessing community journalism for social and racial justice.

What it reported doing in 2025

The UpTake Institute played a crucial advisory role in supporting Bridgemakers as they took over the coverage of the Minnesota Legislature. This transition was part of the process as the Board of the UpTake Institute moves towards dissolving the 501c3 non-profit corporation. As of December 31 2025 the dissolution process was partially completed with the expectation of finalizing it in the current fiscal year 2026. As part of the dissolution assets are being transferred from the UpTake Institute to Bridgemakers another non-profit organization. Bridgemakers has been instrumental in supporting the ongoing operations of the UpTake Institute during this transitional period. This strategic transfer of assets ensures that the work and mission of the UpTake Institute can continue through the support of Bridgemakers. The collaboration between these two organizations highlights a commitment to sustaining the impact and legacy of the UpTake Institutes work in media and advocacy.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 43
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Sustainability: 26
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 52.6%; rating input score 53
  • Program expense ratio: 27.1%; rating input score 27

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -94.4%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.37; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -34.5% per year; rating input score 0; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -35.4% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -35.1% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 52.6% of revenue deployed · 27.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: Filed governance answers
  • Accomplishments: 3 filed program accomplishments · $6K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 7 of 7 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2021 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 53/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 27/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 8/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 26/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.